The Sanctity of Marriage Is Already Ruined

Same-Sex Marriage in America

Britney Spears and high school friend Jason Allen Alexander, 2 days; Dennis Rodman and Carmen Electra, 9 days; Gregg Allman and Cher, 9 days; Rudolph Valentino and Jean Acker, 6 hours; Robert Evans and Catherine Oxenberg, 12 days; Jeremy Thomas and Drew Barrymore, 29 days; Ethel Merman and Ernest Borgnine, 38 days; Janet Jackson and James DeBarge, 4 months.

These are the lengths of only a few short-lived celebrity marriages according to Entertainment Weekly Magazine. It seems these days celebrities are swapping husbands and wives like handbags. At first glance it may seem like a stretch to use celebrity public relation stunts as an example of the lack of respect for the sanctity of marriage between heterosexuals, but these are the individuals our children idolize. Or perhaps they are only role models when convenient, as apparent after the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake exposed breast episode during the Super Bowl half time show? We celebrate and gossip when our favorite star gets married and divorced days later, but harshly criticize their actions when they expose skin. The length of marriage is rarely a hot topic.

With wide-spread role models applying for frequent visitors cards at local Las Vegas chapels and an American divorce rate of 4 per 1,000 people according to the United States Center for Health Statistics, who's really ruining the sanctity of marriage and "traditional" family? Furthermore, how can same-sex marriages possibly corrode a traditional symbol of commitment that's already a joke? In fact, it's the exact opposite with thousands of gay and lesbian couples flocking to wed. Often these same-sex couples have been in committed relationships for many years and are motivated by more than convenience, money or entertainment. The facade of traditional family values is merely a shell of what it is supposed to be (and one can't help but wonder exactly who defines such values).

Are conservatives afraid that same-sex marriage will add to the existing divorce statistics or is it the fear that gays and lesbians will be an ideal example of what marriage should be? Anti-gay activists and conservative politicians should loosen their belts and allow legal same-sex marriages throughout the country, while at the same time use their political power to clean up their own tarnished perceptions of tradition.